To RSM3853. Your liat(as you call it) of 1st run films at the Orpheum is wrong. A lot of those films you mention are 2nd runs because the Orpheum was dying as a movie palace along with the others on Wash. St. The death knell started in the early 70’s until the theatre became the Aquarius. The Orpheum was originally MGM/ United Artists home for Boston. They ran pretty much the same schedule as the RKO Keiths in Wash D.C. The Keiths was not an MGM house.
To MPOL. You may have seen LOA at the horrible Lowes but an awful lot of people saw it at the same time at the muich better Coolidge Corner in 70mm. It has played at the Coolidge and the Somerville several times since. The 1st time I saw it was in 1964 at the Kadena AFB on Okinawa when it came over there as a special showing before it hit any of the other base theatres, It was in 35mm and I can’t remember its length. Military people from bases all over the island filled the good size theatre everynight for a weekger. It was only $1 admission.
Saw many movies at the Roxy in the 1960’s while my ships were in the shipyard. @ of the films I remember which had long lines and sell outs. Were “The Graduate” and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner". Nice theatre.
The original screen in the Charles theatre in Boston was well over 50". The cinemascope screen in the Metropolitan(Music Hall) (Wang theatre in Boston was also very wide.
To Coate. Empire Strikes Back opened at the Charles in 70mm as did all the other Star Wars Films. The Circle had 70mm but a much smaller screen than the Charles.
Sorry B—-h but you are wrong. You should not text in any theatre be it a movie or live. Most live theatres tell you to turn your phones off before the show starts. It is annoying to other customers to see flash lights on. Obey the rules next time and you won’t get tossed. By the way your little tantrum was vulgar and you should have your mouth washed out with acid.
To Big Joe. What is the difference between a downtown 1st run or a neighborhood 2-3 run. They are all movie palaces like the Castro. Even in the Golden Yrs some neighborhood theatres occassionaly had 1st runs along with a downtown theatre. Boston had some, namely he Fenway and Lowes State. They weren.t exactly downtown and they still aren.t. They have different names and are now used as Music Halls. Don.t be so fussy. Just because a film Palace wasn.t downtown doesn.t make it any less different.
I saw 2001 in Cinerama the 1st time at the Seattle Cinerama theatre. I then saw it at the Golden Gate Cinerama a few weeks later. Both times I never figured it out. Seattle was a great Cinerama Theatre. The Golden Gate was OK. In San Francisco it was annoying because they kept passing Marijuana0 cigarettes up and down the aisles. No one stopped it. It was legal? to smoke in Calif. Theatres back then but only in the balconies. I was in the orchestra. It was a sickening smell. I couldn,t touch it be cause I was in my Navy uniform then. When I got back to the ship that night I must have reeked of green smoke. Nobody said anything. As far as the film in Boston it played at the Boston Cinerama for over 30 weeks exclusively. After that it played everywhere but in 35mm. Over the yrs it has played in 70mm reissues at the Beacon Hill, Coolidge Corner and Somerville theatres. Just a couple of weeks ago it played as a Fathom event in digital event at several theatres in the area.
Saw many shows at the Colonial. Mamma Mia(3 times) and others. The most disappointing was Jersey Boys. The show was terrific but the use of the “F” word throughout was not called for. My wife and I went to a Wed mat and there were kids 8-11 there. What a disappointment. This is a great theatre and from what pics I have seen on TV and newspapers(Yes Boston still has 2 dailies, thank god) they have done a remarkable job on restoration. Can’t wait to go to another musicl in the future.
Been to the Super Chief. They had 70mm I believe. Saw Lord Jim there. Was thrown out because my friends and I kept running in front of the booth and making finger shadows. I was a projectionist at the NAS Anacostia for 4 yrs. Always old movies because Bolling AFB next door had a real theatre. Our theatre was also a gym with wooden seats. I worked there 1960-1961 and 1964-1966. Also worked as a projectionist at the Naval Photographic Center, same time frame.
To ASOK 10: I loved the Astor’s huge screen and 70mm projection. Here is an answer to you Raintree County being in 65mm. It was shot on 65mm and printed on 70mm stock for projection. From what I understand it was never released on 70mm at the beginning because not enough cities had enough 70mm theatres available at the time. Look this up on Wikipedia. It was originally supposed to be a 70mm roadshow but ended up as a 35mm roadshow on original release. From what I read is that Louisville, Ky played the only 70mm print available.
To Egcarter. To my knowledge ther never was an RKO International 70 built in the Boston area. Our 2 RKO houses from the 20,s became the Boston Cinerama in 1953 and later the other one became the Opera House much much later.
If this theatre was built in 1939 and the card says they have been playing MGM product for over 10 yrs than something or someone was wrong. I started going to the Playhouse in late 1951. The 1st movie I saw was “The Day The Earth Stood Still”. Also remember having to sit on the stoop of the side exit door for “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”. Theatre was over sold. This was a great theatre. Always 1st run and expensive at 25 cents. It was great under Lockwood & Gordon ownership. They sold to Sonderling and they let it run down. Not with us anymore. Torn down and a condo complex built with a very nice twin on the ground floor. Still go there and still 1st run by Brett & family.
Thank God the Colonial is re-opening as a legit theatre instead of college dorms. Great theatre. Supposedly the longest continually running legit theatre in the USA. Only closed for periods of Re-modeling.
I don’t know when this was written but Boston has not lost all of it’s art theatres. Those that are still open are the Somerville, The West Newton, theLandmark Kenmore in Cambridge, and now we have the Re-Newed Paramount downtown. There are other theatres that still show some Art & Foreign Films.
This theatre became the Boston Cinerama in 1953. Closed as a 3 screen Chinese theter. Still Standing. Front is a store and a subway entrance. Auditorium is still there. Could be renovated back to a theatre if you had about 40-50 million.
I know this is a little late but I just read some of the comments about 1st run & neighborhood. Here in Boston especially in the 40’s-60’s 1st run was downtown Boston. Neighborhood was in outlying districts. Any place that wanted 1st run had to be 25 miles from downtown Boston. We did have 2nd & 3rd run houses right downtown, namelt he Pilgrim, Center & Publix which eventually became porn. The Pilgrim would occassionall be 1st run, namel the Tingler because they were the only one that would electrify their seats, It did great business even though it was in the seediest part of Downtown Washington st. We had many big 1st run theatres that were not exactly downtown st such as the Cheri, Capri Nickelodeon Paris Fenway, and Charles. These were even hard ticket reserved 70mm houses mostly owned by the notorious Sack/USA chain which eventually became Lowes houses(Not E.M. Loews).
To Vindanpar. I enjoyed Ice Station Zebra. It was a very good film and the 70mm Cinerama aspect was not a waste. But both Dr. Doolittle which I saw in 70mm at the 5th ave in seattle was a waste of time & money. Camelot was god awful. I saw ISZ at the Cinerama in Providence. I’m glad I never `paid to see Camelot in a theatre.
In 1962 I went to a Drive-In in San Diego with friends. We had to watch Elvis Presley in a thick fog. It was awful. I don’t know which drive in it was but it was just at the end of NAS Miramar’s runways.
To Garyhoy. I know this is late but I just found your note. I remember what you call Race films. We here in Boston called the the same. Our local theatre the Dorchester(better known as the Dot showed them every Sat in the late 40’s to the 50’s. Same thing, a ticket # and if your # came in you won a prize. Usually a box game or a toy donated by a local store. They would show several cartoons, a short, usually 3 stooges and a western all for 10cents. Lots of fin. Our other local theatre up the street the FIELDS cORNER USUALLY HAD A LIVE SHOW WITH A GUEST. I REMEMBER SEEING howdy dOODY WITH bUFFALO bOB’S BROTHER bUFFALO vIC WITH Clarabelle AND cHIEL tHUNDERTHUD AT ONE SHOW. I ALSO SAW cowboy star Sunset Carson. also fun. They would then show whatever movie was playing at the time. When that came on all the kids would get up and leave unless it was maybe a Lassie Movie or something like that.
Mike Rogers. Most of the Driveins in Eastern Mass were 900-1200 cars. This is not such a small state in pop. This drive in was in the Boston metro area just north of the city. There were over 3 million in the area at the time and we had many drive ins around. Now there are none Only 6 or less in Mass. What a shame. WE ARE NOT A SMALL STATE in pop only in area. We also have more champions in sports in the last 10 yrs than any other area of the country. Where are you from.
Hey vindanpar. Your last line on your comment. I do not live in Jersey but I do live outside of Boston. We have several theatres that show older classics. In case you don’t know but most films are not available on film anymore so that is why all is digital. Most places that can show film(which is very few) will try to get a print but it is hard to do. So wouldn’t rather see it digitally than not at all. This is the 21st century pal.
To RSM3853. Your liat(as you call it) of 1st run films at the Orpheum is wrong. A lot of those films you mention are 2nd runs because the Orpheum was dying as a movie palace along with the others on Wash. St. The death knell started in the early 70’s until the theatre became the Aquarius. The Orpheum was originally MGM/ United Artists home for Boston. They ran pretty much the same schedule as the RKO Keiths in Wash D.C. The Keiths was not an MGM house.
To MPOL. You may have seen LOA at the horrible Lowes but an awful lot of people saw it at the same time at the muich better Coolidge Corner in 70mm. It has played at the Coolidge and the Somerville several times since. The 1st time I saw it was in 1964 at the Kadena AFB on Okinawa when it came over there as a special showing before it hit any of the other base theatres, It was in 35mm and I can’t remember its length. Military people from bases all over the island filled the good size theatre everynight for a weekger. It was only $1 admission.
Saw many movies at the Roxy in the 1960’s while my ships were in the shipyard. @ of the films I remember which had long lines and sell outs. Were “The Graduate” and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner". Nice theatre.
The original screen in the Charles theatre in Boston was well over 50". The cinemascope screen in the Metropolitan(Music Hall) (Wang theatre in Boston was also very wide.
To Coate. Empire Strikes Back opened at the Charles in 70mm as did all the other Star Wars Films. The Circle had 70mm but a much smaller screen than the Charles.
Sorry B—-h but you are wrong. You should not text in any theatre be it a movie or live. Most live theatres tell you to turn your phones off before the show starts. It is annoying to other customers to see flash lights on. Obey the rules next time and you won’t get tossed. By the way your little tantrum was vulgar and you should have your mouth washed out with acid.
To Big Joe. What is the difference between a downtown 1st run or a neighborhood 2-3 run. They are all movie palaces like the Castro. Even in the Golden Yrs some neighborhood theatres occassionaly had 1st runs along with a downtown theatre. Boston had some, namely he Fenway and Lowes State. They weren.t exactly downtown and they still aren.t. They have different names and are now used as Music Halls. Don.t be so fussy. Just because a film Palace wasn.t downtown doesn.t make it any less different.
I saw 2001 in Cinerama the 1st time at the Seattle Cinerama theatre. I then saw it at the Golden Gate Cinerama a few weeks later. Both times I never figured it out. Seattle was a great Cinerama Theatre. The Golden Gate was OK. In San Francisco it was annoying because they kept passing Marijuana0 cigarettes up and down the aisles. No one stopped it. It was legal? to smoke in Calif. Theatres back then but only in the balconies. I was in the orchestra. It was a sickening smell. I couldn,t touch it be cause I was in my Navy uniform then. When I got back to the ship that night I must have reeked of green smoke. Nobody said anything. As far as the film in Boston it played at the Boston Cinerama for over 30 weeks exclusively. After that it played everywhere but in 35mm. Over the yrs it has played in 70mm reissues at the Beacon Hill, Coolidge Corner and Somerville theatres. Just a couple of weeks ago it played as a Fathom event in digital event at several theatres in the area.
Should be listed as OPEN. My first post says closed but that was several yrs ago. It has been reopened by Flagship for awhile now
Saw many shows at the Colonial. Mamma Mia(3 times) and others. The most disappointing was Jersey Boys. The show was terrific but the use of the “F” word throughout was not called for. My wife and I went to a Wed mat and there were kids 8-11 there. What a disappointment. This is a great theatre and from what pics I have seen on TV and newspapers(Yes Boston still has 2 dailies, thank god) they have done a remarkable job on restoration. Can’t wait to go to another musicl in the future.
Been to the Super Chief. They had 70mm I believe. Saw Lord Jim there. Was thrown out because my friends and I kept running in front of the booth and making finger shadows. I was a projectionist at the NAS Anacostia for 4 yrs. Always old movies because Bolling AFB next door had a real theatre. Our theatre was also a gym with wooden seats. I worked there 1960-1961 and 1964-1966. Also worked as a projectionist at the Naval Photographic Center, same time frame.
To ASOK 10: I loved the Astor’s huge screen and 70mm projection. Here is an answer to you Raintree County being in 65mm. It was shot on 65mm and printed on 70mm stock for projection. From what I understand it was never released on 70mm at the beginning because not enough cities had enough 70mm theatres available at the time. Look this up on Wikipedia. It was originally supposed to be a 70mm roadshow but ended up as a 35mm roadshow on original release. From what I read is that Louisville, Ky played the only 70mm print available.
Saw this in 70mm at the Charles theatre in Boston. Enjoyed it very much. Some parts were slow & boring. Beautiful in 70mm.
To Egcarter. To my knowledge ther never was an RKO International 70 built in the Boston area. Our 2 RKO houses from the 20,s became the Boston Cinerama in 1953 and later the other one became the Opera House much much later.
If this theatre was built in 1939 and the card says they have been playing MGM product for over 10 yrs than something or someone was wrong. I started going to the Playhouse in late 1951. The 1st movie I saw was “The Day The Earth Stood Still”. Also remember having to sit on the stoop of the side exit door for “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”. Theatre was over sold. This was a great theatre. Always 1st run and expensive at 25 cents. It was great under Lockwood & Gordon ownership. They sold to Sonderling and they let it run down. Not with us anymore. Torn down and a condo complex built with a very nice twin on the ground floor. Still go there and still 1st run by Brett & family.
Thank God the Colonial is re-opening as a legit theatre instead of college dorms. Great theatre. Supposedly the longest continually running legit theatre in the USA. Only closed for periods of Re-modeling.
I don’t know when this was written but Boston has not lost all of it’s art theatres. Those that are still open are the Somerville, The West Newton, theLandmark Kenmore in Cambridge, and now we have the Re-Newed Paramount downtown. There are other theatres that still show some Art & Foreign Films.
I can,t believe that To Sir With Love ran in one theatre for almost 2 yrs anywhere in the world not even here in the USA. Is this correct?
This theatre became the Boston Cinerama in 1953. Closed as a 3 screen Chinese theter. Still Standing. Front is a store and a subway entrance. Auditorium is still there. Could be renovated back to a theatre if you had about 40-50 million.
I know this is a little late but I just read some of the comments about 1st run & neighborhood. Here in Boston especially in the 40’s-60’s 1st run was downtown Boston. Neighborhood was in outlying districts. Any place that wanted 1st run had to be 25 miles from downtown Boston. We did have 2nd & 3rd run houses right downtown, namelt he Pilgrim, Center & Publix which eventually became porn. The Pilgrim would occassionall be 1st run, namel the Tingler because they were the only one that would electrify their seats, It did great business even though it was in the seediest part of Downtown Washington st. We had many big 1st run theatres that were not exactly downtown st such as the Cheri, Capri Nickelodeon Paris Fenway, and Charles. These were even hard ticket reserved 70mm houses mostly owned by the notorious Sack/USA chain which eventually became Lowes houses(Not E.M. Loews).
To Vindanpar. I enjoyed Ice Station Zebra. It was a very good film and the 70mm Cinerama aspect was not a waste. But both Dr. Doolittle which I saw in 70mm at the 5th ave in seattle was a waste of time & money. Camelot was god awful. I saw ISZ at the Cinerama in Providence. I’m glad I never `paid to see Camelot in a theatre.
In 1962 I went to a Drive-In in San Diego with friends. We had to watch Elvis Presley in a thick fog. It was awful. I don’t know which drive in it was but it was just at the end of NAS Miramar’s runways.
To Garyhoy. I know this is late but I just found your note. I remember what you call Race films. We here in Boston called the the same. Our local theatre the Dorchester(better known as the Dot showed them every Sat in the late 40’s to the 50’s. Same thing, a ticket # and if your # came in you won a prize. Usually a box game or a toy donated by a local store. They would show several cartoons, a short, usually 3 stooges and a western all for 10cents. Lots of fin. Our other local theatre up the street the FIELDS cORNER USUALLY HAD A LIVE SHOW WITH A GUEST. I REMEMBER SEEING howdy dOODY WITH bUFFALO bOB’S BROTHER bUFFALO vIC WITH Clarabelle AND cHIEL tHUNDERTHUD AT ONE SHOW. I ALSO SAW cowboy star Sunset Carson. also fun. They would then show whatever movie was playing at the time. When that came on all the kids would get up and leave unless it was maybe a Lassie Movie or something like that.
Mike Rogers. Most of the Driveins in Eastern Mass were 900-1200 cars. This is not such a small state in pop. This drive in was in the Boston metro area just north of the city. There were over 3 million in the area at the time and we had many drive ins around. Now there are none Only 6 or less in Mass. What a shame. WE ARE NOT A SMALL STATE in pop only in area. We also have more champions in sports in the last 10 yrs than any other area of the country. Where are you from.
Hey vindanpar. Your last line on your comment. I do not live in Jersey but I do live outside of Boston. We have several theatres that show older classics. In case you don’t know but most films are not available on film anymore so that is why all is digital. Most places that can show film(which is very few) will try to get a print but it is hard to do. So wouldn’t rather see it digitally than not at all. This is the 21st century pal.